Following up The Sopranos is a tricky prospect, but following up The Sopranos with a period drama, set amidst the glitz and grub of 1920s Prohibition era Atlantic City, is something else altogether. But producer and overall TV guru Terence Winter pulled it off with panache, roping in Martin Scorsese to helm a pilot with an $18 million budget and going on to craft television's murkiest criminal come political drama in years. This HBO behemoth needs to be seen to be truly appreciated.
Major Players
Name-checking an ensemble cast as glitzy as Boardwalk Empire's is a doozy, but the stars that shine as bright as those lighting up New Jersey's pier of sin include Michael Pitt, as war vet Jimmy Darmody; Michael Shannon who is riveting as evangelical cop turned bootlegger, Nelson Van Elden; Jack Huston as silent assassin Richard Harrow and a host of real life characters, such as Al Capone (Stephen Graham), Albert Rothstein (Michael Stuhlberg) and Lucky Luciano (Vincent Piazza), who all merge into the line up to form a perfect blend of fact and fiction. But, save the biggest tip of the hat for Steve Buscemi, who as corrupt political kingpin, Nucky Thompson, heads up the show with a performance that consistently repulses and rivets at the same time.
What Next?
Season five is due to air in September in what Winter assures is going to be the last. Whereas four was set in the mid 1920s, this shorter order of eight episodes will track forward to the early 1930s, where the fate of one Enoch Thompson is something that fans will have to ponder for a while longer.
Shaun is a former contributor for a number of Future Publishing titles and more recently worked as a staffer at Imagine Publishing.
He can now be found banking in the daytime and writing a variety of articles for What Culture, namely around his favourite topics of film, retro gaming, music, TV and, when he's feeling clever, literature.
